Convertible air supported suction cleaner



y 6, 1958 w. G. sEcK 2,832,986

CONVERTIBLE AIR SUPPORTED SUCTION CLEANER Filed April a, 1956 UnitedStates Pat CONVERTIBLE AIR SUPPORTED SUCTION CLEANER Werner G. Seck,Canton, Ohio, assignor to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, acorporation of Ohio Application April 6, 1956, Serial No. 576,734

5 Claims. (Cl. 15-327) The present invention relates to suction cleanersand more particularly to suction cleaners of the so called canister typeby which cleaning is done by means of a cleaning tool attached to amotor-fan-filter unit by means of a flexible suction hose.

Such cleaners may be towed about by means of pulling on the suctionhose. The present invention relates to that type of cleaner in which thetowing operation is facilitated by supporting the motor-fan-filter uniton a cushion of air as exemplified by a co-pending application by Incleaners of the air supported type, the exhaust air flows into a plenumchamber formed between the base of the cleaner and the surface uponwhich the cleaner rests. The plenum chamber is formed by an annularsupporting rim closing an annular air space into which the exhaust airdischarges. An air pressure is built up within the plenum chambersufiicient to support the cleaner on a cushion of air, the rim beingraisedsufiiciently to per-' mit the escape of exhaust air between itslower edge and the surface upon which the cleaner rests. A number ofprotuberances projecting slightly below the supporting rim may beprovided to prevent the cleaner from chattering and to stabilize it whenit is supported on a bare According to the present invention anauxiliary air outlet is provided which is normally closed by a removablesleeve like member. When the sleeve is removed the air flows through anannular diffusing opening between the base of the cleaner and the mainbody of the cleaner. 7

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent as the description proceeds when ICE rated by a bulkhead (notshown) provided with an opening leading to the suction inlet of amotor-fan unit 17 suitably supported within the lower casing half 12.

The motor windings may be connected to the usual household electricaloutlet by an electric cord 18 and is adapted to be controlled by anelectric switch 19.

The cleaner body 10 is pivoted at 20 to a base generally indicated bythereference numeral 21 and is normally held in'its downward position bya latch 22. The lower casing half 12 is provided with blower fitting 23whereby the body 10 may be pivoted upwardly and the flexible hoseattached to the fitting 23 for blowing purposes.

The base 21 consists of an annular plate 25 having a downwardlyextending annular rim 26 provided with a plurality of downwardlyextending protuberances 29peripherally spaced about the rim 26 andextending downwardly from the lower face of the rim 26 a few thousandthsof an inch for a purpose which will later appear. For one type ofcleaner the protuberances 29 may be from 0.020 to 0.025 inch in downwardextent below the rim 26. i

The space between the plate 25 and the lower edge of rim 26 forms aplenum chamber 27 into which exhaust air is discharged through anopening 28 inplate 25 immediately below theblower fitting 23. A ringlike member 30 a normally seats about the opening 28 at its lower edgetaken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a cleaner according to the Fig. 2 is asegmental sectional view of the cleaner of Fig. 1 showing the path ofexhaust air flow when the cleaner is not air supported.

The cleaner of the present invention is generally represented by thereference numeral 10 and comprises upper and lower casing halves 11 and12 respectively hinged together at 13 and held closed by a suitablelatch 14.

The upper casing encases a filter 15 and is formed with a suction inletfitting 16 to which one end of the flexible hose is adapted to beattached, the other end of the hose being connected to a suitablecleaning tool.

The upper and lower casing halves 11 and 12 are sepaand makes sealingengagement with the blower fitting 23 when the body 10 is latched to thebase 21. The ring 30 is made of plastic material and is held in positionby an integral rivet 31 extending through a small opening 32 in theplate 25 to one side of the opening 28.

The upper part of the base 21 comprising an annular plate 33 having aplurality of openings 34 about its periphery and positioned outwardly ofthe lower casing half 12. The space between a plate 25 and the lowercasing half 12 enclosed by the annulus 33 forms a diffusing chamberunder certain conditions as will later appear;

Operation A hose having a suitable cleaning tool attached to its freeend is attached to the suction fitting 16 and the motor energized byoperation of the switch 19. Dirt laden air will be drawn inwardlythrough the hose and fitting 16 and into the filter 15 where the dirtwill be separated from the moving air stream. 0

The cleaned air will pass through the bulkhead into the suction side ofthe fan and be discharged through the motor casing into the interior ofthe lower casing half 12. The exhaust air under pressure will passthrough the blower fitting 23, through the ring 30 and through theopening 28 in plate 25 into the plenum chamber 27 where a pressure willbe built up suificient to support the weight of the cleaner 10 on acushion of air, the air escaping from beneath the lower edge of rim 26to maintain the requisite pressure in the plenum chamber 27.

The protuberances 29 are not absolutely essential but prevent thecleaner from chattering when it is supported on the air cushion, moreparticularly the protuberances 29 actually prevent the cleaner frombeginning to chatter.

When it is desired to usethe cleaner 10 without the use of the air liftfeature, the latch 22 is released and the cleaner body pivoted upwardlyabout the pivot 20 which removes the fitting 23 from contact with thering 30 permitting the latter to be easily removed. The body 10 is thenreturned to its normal position and used in the normal manner.

The removal of the ring 30 provides for the free flow of air through thediffuser and openings 34. While that air flow passage is somewhatrestricted and air flow into the plenum chamber 27 is permitted the backpressure in thatchamber will not be suificient to support the cleaner 10and it may be used in the usual manner of using canister type cleaners.

In either case the body 10 may be tilted upwardly and a hose, fittinginserted in the blower fitting 23 for blowing operations.

From the foregoing it can be seen that the present invention providesthe simple arrangement by which a canister cleaner of the air supportedtype may be easily converted to an ordinary canister cleaner.

While I have shown and described but a single embodiment of my inventionit is to be understood that that embodiment is to be takenasillustrative only and not in a limiting sense. I do not wish to belimited to the specific structure shown and described but wish toinclude all equivalent variations thereof except as limited by the scopeof the claims.

I claim:

1. A suction cleaner comprising,- a body'having a suction inlet and anexhaust outlet, a suction creating unit within said body for drawing airinto the suction inlet and for exhausting said air through said outlet,a supporting base for said body, a plenum chamber formed in said baseand exposed over a substantial area to the surface upon which said bodyrests, a supporting rim surrounding said area, means including aseparable memhaust outlet direct to atmosphere, said secondary airpassage being'normally closed by said separable member whereby, upon itsremoval a free path of air flow to atmosphere is provided for airexhausted by said suction creating unit.

2. A suction cleaner according to claim 1 in which said removable memberis in the form of a ring lying between said. exhaust outlet and a portleading to said plenum chamber and normally occupying the space betweensaid body and base.

3. A suction cleaner according to claim 2 in which said body is pivotedto said base and said ring is accessible for removal when said body ispivoted upwardly relative to said base.

4. A suction cleaner according to claim 3 in which said ring like memberis detachably secured to said base adjacent the port leading to saidplenum chamber.

5. A suction cleaner according to claim 1 in which said secondary airpassage is in the form of an annular space between said body and basecommunicating with atmosphere and acting as an air diffuser.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,616,115 Dayton Nov. 4, 1952 2,751,038 Acheson June 19, 1956 FOREIGNPATENTS V 48,930 Netherlands July 15, 1940

